Singaporeans are not saving enough

Workers love to talk about saving money, yet only a quarter of Singaporeans save between 21% and 40% of their monthly salary, with 5% not saving any at all.

While this is an increase from the 19.7% who reportedly saved the same percentage in 2011, a majority of Singaporeans (34.7%) only put aside between 10% and 20% of their salary, a survey by JobsCentral found.

“While it is encouraging to see that most people do have some savings from their monthly income, it looks like many have low saving rates,” Michelle Lim, COO of JobsCentral Group, said.

“For those relying on their CPF for retirement, they may find that it is often insufficient and needs supplement from personal savings or income from investments.”

The results also dismissed the perception that younger workers are more spendthrift, as 50.9% of those below 21 save more than a fifth of their monthly pay, compared to 46% of those between 21 and 30, and a third of those between 31 and 40.

Lim said a reason for this may be because older workers have more financial responsibility and will have to pay for a mortgage, cars and supporting their families.

Unsurprisingly, the survey also found bigger earners were better at saving more, with those earning $7,000 – $7,999 per month being the most likely to save over 20% of their salary (61.5%).

Male employees are also better savers than their female counterparts, with 41.5% of men reporting to put more than 20% of their earnings into savings, compared to 37.5% of women.

One third of employees surveyed were also found to hold a second job to supplement their income, and 30.5% said they are moonlighting to earn an additional salary.

A smaller percentage would rely on passive wealth growth such as dividends from stocks or bonds (26.8%), and property rental income (12.1%).